Chapter 116 Benefiting the People
At Hu Ji Grocery Store in Wuzhou Prefecture, Shopkeeper Liu looked at the passers-by outside the store with a worried look on his face.
Alas, this grocery business is becoming increasingly difficult.
Sales have declined again this month. The boss relies entirely on this store for support, but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot stop the decline. Shopkeeper Liu feels that he has failed his boss's trust.
Just as he was sighing, two ox carts arrived at the store door. County Magistrate Hu and his son came, as well as Lao Mo.
"Boss!" Shopkeeper Liu hurried out to greet him. "I'm so sorry for not welcoming you so kindly!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Liu!" Hu Erlang took Manager Liu's arm and said affectionately.
When Manager Liu saw Hu Erlang's happy expression, but he didn't show it on his face, he felt suspicious.
Why is the County Magistrate here too? And there was Lao Mo, followed by two strong men. On the cart were two objects wrapped in linen, a pile of ironware, and a few gift boxes.
This, this... Shopkeeper Liu couldn't understand it. This was really strange.
"Let's go inside and talk!" Hu Erlang whispered when he saw the inquiring look on Shopkeeper Liu's face.
"Yes!" Shopkeeper Liu took a few people to the backyard, leaving only two guys to watch the store.
Lao Mo asked his clerk and the strong man to move the things from the car to the backyard, "Be careful! Don't bump or damage them!"
"Boss, this is..." Shopkeeper Liu's curiosity was aroused.
"Open it and show it to Manager Liu!" Hu Erlang ordered.
The two strong men carefully opened one of the objects wrapped in linen, revealing a brand new Jiangdong plow.
"What kind of plow is this?" Shopkeeper Liu noticed that it was different from the straight-beam plow in the store and didn't know what it was used for.
"Jiangdong plow! With it, the straight-beam plow will no longer have a market and will be eliminated!" Hu Erlang said confidently.
Shopkeeper Liu looked at the owner. It was the first time he saw him so confident. "Where did you find this? Has anyone used it before?"
"I have used it! Otherwise I wouldn't have come here specially! It won't be long before the entire Wuzhou will be replaced by Jiangdong Li!" Hu Erlang was overjoyed.
"Congratulations, boss! Congratulations, boss!" Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly congratulated.
He didn't dare to draw any conclusions about the facts, but when the host was happy, he just had to not spoil the fun.
"Come on, Manager Liu, I know you don't believe it. Tomorrow you can take Lao Mo and the others to find a piece of land to plow, and you will know after a try!" Hu Erlang blew on the hot tea and drank it slowly.
The tea in the Tang Dynasty was not brewed by soaking tea leaves in water as in modern times. Instead, the tea leaves were ground into powder, and then boiled with onion, ginger, salt or sugar to drink the soup.
In the Song Dynasty, tea was brewed by the incantation method, which involved grinding tea leaves into powder and placing them in a teacup. A small amount of boiling water was first poured in to make it into a paste, and then more boiling water was poured in. The tea was stirred with a tea whisk to make the tea powder float up and form a porridge-like surface.
The exquisite people draw various patterns on the porridge surface, showing the elegance of the tea maker.
The modern method of brewing tea began in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang abolished cake tea and promoted loose tea, which greatly simplified the way of drinking tea and expanded its promotion.
"This Jiangdong plow is so good. The owner has come here specially. I believe he has some arrangements. I wonder if the owner..." Manager Liu looked at Hu Erlang.
"This Jiangdong plow is priced the same as the straight-beam plow!" Hu Erlang said neatly.
"A price?" Shopkeeper Liu stood up in shock and said regretfully, "What a great opportunity to make a fortune! Why did the owner..."
"Don't worry, Manager Liu, we won't do business at a loss! We have our own plans!" Hu Erlang gestured to Manager Liu to sit down.
"These are two carpenters we brought over from Wu County. Not only are we not raising the price of this Jiangdong plow, we're also accepting processing of supplied materials! Let's make this Jiangdong plow more popular and widespread as soon as possible!"
"Boss!" Shopkeeper Liu was stunned. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. He bowed deeply to County Magistrate Hu and Hu Erlang, "Boss, you are so kind!"
This farm tool is what many farmers dream of. The owner gave up his own profits just to promote it. No matter what the owner intends, the farmers are the ones who benefit in the end.
Manager Liu himself comes from a farming family and knows how difficult life is for farmers.
The owner has tried every possible way to make it affordable for the farmers. With the help of the magic weapon, the farmers will have a lot of ease. I am sincerely grateful!
"Manager Liu, you're so polite! Sit down, sit down!" Hu Erlang helped Manager Liu up. "I have a few more things to show you!"
"What great stuff!" Shopkeeper Liu wiped away his previous frown and looked expectant. He didn't know what opportunity the master had to get such great things one after another.
When I opened the gift box, I saw two small bundles of vermicelli tied with red silk thread, fern root vermicelli and kudzu root vermicelli, which were high-end and exquisite.
"What is this?" Shopkeeper Liu's eyes flashed with brilliance. It was obvious that this thing was not an ordinary item!
"Fern root vermicelli, kudzu root vermicelli!" Hu Erlang introduced them one by one. "Soak them in warm water until soft. They can be used as a dish on their own, stewed or roasted with meat, or cooked on their own as a staple food."
"Boss, do you mean it's made of fern roots and kudzu roots?" Shopkeeper Liu took it out carefully and looked at it left and right.
It’s hard to imagine that the raw materials for such a good thing are just inconspicuous wild animals from the fields.
"Hmm! You wouldn't have thought of that!" Hu Erlang said with a proud smile.
"Who would have thought of this? How did the boss come up with this idea?" Shopkeeper Liu felt that the owner had changed a lot this time.
"It was made by a master from Chang'an! There are more good things. Come, take a look at this!" Hu Erlang handed over two more white porcelain jars.
He carefully opened one of them and took out a sour jujube roll, "Manager Liu, try it!"
Shopkeeper Liu took it, smelled the sour and sweet fragrance, and his mouth immediately became full of salivation.
"Good stuff!" Shopkeeper Liu tore off a small piece with his hand and put it into his mouth.
The sour, sweet, crunchy and chewy taste, a mixture of several special tastes, hits Shopkeeper Liu's mouth at the same time.
This middle-aged man, who never eats greedily, actually wanted to take a second bite after taking one. Looking at the sour jujube roll in his hand, he was reluctant to put it down and let his child try it later.
"Take another look at this!" Hu Erlang opened another white porcelain jar and carefully handed it to Manager Liu.
"This! Good honey!" Shopkeeper Liu didn't even need to taste it. Just by looking at the color and smelling the aroma, he concluded that it was fresh wild honey.
"Okay? We will have a steady supply of goods in the future!" Hu Erlang couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
"Really? Boss?" Shopkeeper Liu felt like good news was coming at him one after another, making him dizzy.
He, who was always calm, stood up and sat down again, his eyes fixed, his mind racing, his fingers tapping quickly on the armrests of the chair.
"Boss, when will these things be available?" Shopkeeper Liu asked anxiously, "Before the New Year, we'll definitely make a fortune. If we can sell them to nearby provincial capitals, then, then..."
"Shopkeeper Liu, please sit down, sit down! Be patient!" Hu Erlang said with a smile. "The honey will take some time to arrive, and there's only so much sour jujube cake. If you want to eat it, you'll have to wait until next autumn."
"Ah!" Shopkeeper Liu was heartbroken when he heard this. He watched helplessly as his huge sum of money disappeared!
"Don't worry, don't worry, it's ours and they won't get away!" Hu Erlang soothed him, "Now we need to get the fern root vermicelli and kudzu root vermicelli out first! I want to hear your thoughts."
"My idea?" Shopkeeper Liu was flattered that the host was so humble.
"Right! You know this state capital best. What do you think can be done to get the vermicelli out there as quickly as possible?
There's a lot of supply, and the people of Wu County are all producing it, so we need to sell it as soon as possible," said Hu Erlang.
Manager Liu looked at Hu Erlang and then at County Magistrate Hu.
Are the people of Wu County all producing it? So it was promoted by the county magistrate. If it is done well, it will benefit the people and also gain a good political achievement.
I must plan carefully. If the master is doing well, I will not be too bad either!
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